Accession Number PB2012-112618
Title Canadian Oil Sands: Life-Cycle Assessments of Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
Publication Date May 2012
Media Count 30p
Personal Author N/A
Abstract After discussing the basic methodology of life-cycle assessments and examining the choice of boundaries, design features, and input assumptions, this report compares several of the publicly available assessments of life-cycle emissions data for Canadian oil sands crudes against each other and against those of other global reference crudes. Further, as congressional concern over the environmental impacts of Canadian oil sands production may encompass both a broad understanding of the global resource as well as a specific assessment of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, the report surveys both the general scientific literature as well as the individual findings of the State Departments Keystone XL Project Environmental Impact Statement. Finally, as life-cycle assessments have become an influentialalbeit developingmethodology for collecting, analyzing, and comparing GHG emissions, the report concludes with a discussion of some tools for policymakers who are interested in using these assessments to investigate the potential impacts of U.S. energy policy choices on the environment.
Keywords Canadian oil sands
Greenhouse gas emissions
Life-cycle assessments
Life-cycle emissions data
Oil sands


 
Source Agency Congressional Research Service
NTIS Subject Category 41 - Manufacturing Technology
55E - Physical Meteorology
Corporate Author Congressional Research Service, Washington, DC.
Document Type Technical report
Title Note N/A
NTIS Issue Number 1221
Contract Number N/A

Science and Technology Highlights

See a sampling of the latest scientific, technical and engineering information from NTIS in the NTIS Technical Reports Newsletter

Acrobat Reader Mobile    Acrobat Reader